A passenger seat airbag device is housed in an instrument panel, and inflates and deploys an airbag and restrains a passenger seat occupant in an emergency.
Patent Literatures 1 and 2 describe a passenger seat airbag device that takes into account a passenger seat occupant close to the instrument panel.
Patent Literature 3 describes an airbag that is provided with a vent hole at a position in the front surface of the airbag and in contact neither the windshield nor the instrument panel when the airbag is inflated.
[Patent Literature 1] JP2003-200803A
[Patent Literature 2] JP2006-27374A
[Patent Literature 3] JP2001-260800A
In conventional passenger seat airbag devices, after the inflator is actuated and the airbag starts to inflate, the gas in the airbag is not discharged through the vent hole until the airbag is almost completely inflated. Therefore, the pressure in the airbag is high from the start of inflation, and if an interfering object is close to the instrument panel, the input to the interfering object is large.